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Posts: 208
Joined: Mar. 29 2017
From: The Netherlands
How to find and buy a serious Flamen...
Dear foro members,
Since 2 years I am enjoying flamenco on my Burquet 2F Negra. Because I came from the classical guitar, my ear was easily more enchanted by the fuller and warmer sound of a negra. However, now I have gained some basic skill with rasguado’s and other Flamenco techniques, I am more and more leaning towards expanding with a proper Blanca. The obvious choice was a Burguet 1F or Flamenco. So, I tried the Flamenco which is a beautiful instrument but could not really bind with it. I do not know if this is due to the guitar or the fact it had “rusted” medium tension strings or that I could not really test it in the shop.
Then due to a path that live sometimes takes you to, I ended up meeting a retired engineer who had been building classical guitars. He allowed me to play some of his babies he kept which was a wonderful and unique experience. And although they all looked rough, I could not have imagined how different a hand build guitar can sound.
So now I am stuck a bit and seeking your expertise. I am willing to stretch my budget to tiptoe into the hand build offer but do not mind if a guitar is factory build or not. If it just has awesome sound. So how do I go ahead with this? Do I need to fly to Spain and visit workshops? Does it make sense to go to the Frankfurt music fair? Etc. How did you come to your instrument? Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Posts: 294
Joined: May 3 2017
From: Iraq, living in Germany
RE: How to find and buy a serious Fl... (in reply to Schieper)
Yes, a handmade guitar is a completely different experience. Of course you can go to the Musikmesse Frankfurt, but there are mostly factory made guitars and not so much handmade. Also it's very noisy there so it's a little hard to properly test a guitar.
How I got my handmade guitar actually feels like fate to me... I was at the Music Store in Cologne and trying out some of the Alhambra flamenco guitars as a guy kept looking my way. And when he started playing flamenco himself I realized why. After a couple of minutes I went over to him and handed him the guitar I was trying out. After that we chatted a little bit and I told him about my beginners classical guitar and how I almost punched my way through the top with my golpes (and how the workshop at the Music Store didn't want to take care of my baby). Then he said he knew a guy who makes and repairs guitars, he'd be quite good. Gave me his number and I called him a couple days later.
So I go to his workshop with my classical and it's just like in Anders' documentary or any other documentary about guitar making in that matter. A guitar being assembled on a solera, power tools, hand tools, woods of all kinds, you name it. He had a look at my guitar and said he would take care of it. After that he showed me a couple of his own guitars and I was just blown away. I have never before, on any other guitar, felt the top oscillate under my hand. These guitars had character, kind of like a soul. They were beautiful and made with so much care and attention. And at that moment I realized that I needed one of these.
I got my guitar back, with the deep scratches filled, a fresh golpeador on top and a lower saddle. I was in love again and my flamenco playing improved a lot after that. I still kept thinking about my own handmade guitar. And so I told him that I wanted one. We sat together, looked through the wood blanks that he had in the shop, talked about designs and sound and everything. It took quite a while, because he wanted to make sure everything sits and fits perfectly. but in January this year I finally got my baby and I'm in love with it, especially after it had opened up (and it probably will open up a lot more).
You don't need to fly out to Spain to get a proper handmade flamenco guitar. A lot of local guitar makers will be able to craft you a wonderful guitar, I'm sure of it. If you're willing to stretch your budget I guarantee it's 100% worth it. It's almost a spiritual experience to befriend a handmade guitar made especially for you
Posts: 208
Joined: Mar. 29 2017
From: The Netherlands
RE: How to find and buy a serious Fl... (in reply to Schieper)
Thanks for your nice responds Jalal. And congratulations to your new guitar. I might just see if I can visit some local builders... though most are classical
Printable Version
I was at the Music Store in Cologne and trying out some of the Alhambra flamenco guitars as a guy kept looking my way. And when he started playing flamenco himself I realized why. After a couple of minutes I went over to him and handed him the guitar I was trying out. After that we chatted a little bit and I told him about my beginners classical guitar and how I almost punched my way through the top with my golpes (and how the workshop at the Music Store didn't want to take care of my baby). Then he said he knew a guy who makes and repairs guitars, he'd be quite good. Gave me his number and I called him a couple days later. 
You can pm me if you're interested. I can also post a couple of videos for you to see and hear. 
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